Parking lot hit-and-run while I was inside a restaurant — owner has cameras but won't share footage

Ugh, I went through something eerily similar last year. Parked at a gym, someone clipped my car and the front desk manager just kept saying 'we'll look into it' until I stopped hearing back entirely. What finally moved things was sending a formal written letter — certified mail, return receipt — directly to the business owner demanding the footage be preserved. The word 'spoliation' apparently gets people's attention real fast. Not saying it'll work for everyone but it changed the tone of the conversation for me immediately.

Worked in claims for years. What your insurance-skeptic friend said is exactly right — ask your adjuster point blank whether they've opened a subrogation investigation. A lot of adjusters won't volunteer that option, they'll just process the claim and move on. If they identify the at-fault driver later (even months later), you should get your deductible reimbursed. Also, the insurance company has more legal muscle to demand that footage than you do as an individual. Make them use it.

Not legal advice, but just so you know: if that footage gets deleted or 'accidentally' recorded over after the owner knew it was relevant to a police investigation and your claim, that could open up some interesting civil liability questions for the business — not just the mystery driver. A letter from an attorney formally demanding preservation of the video is often all it takes to get cooperation. Consultations are usually free.

Your insurance company should be the ones leaning on him, honestly. They have a financial interest in recovering that deductible through subrogation — meaning if they can identify who did this, they go after that person and you get your deductible back. Push your adjuster specifically on what they're doing to track down the responsible party. Don't let them just close the claim and eat the cost.

A couple of things worth knowing: First, businesses typically have pretty short retention cycles for security footage — sometimes as little as 30 days before it auto-overwrites. So time matters here. Second, if you or your insurer sends a written preservation demand (sometimes called a litigation hold notice), and the footage gets destroyed after that, it can actually work against the business in court. On the police side, a detective — not just a patrol officer — can sometimes obtain footage through a formal subpoena if the case warrants it. Might be worth asking if the report can get escalated.

Stop waiting for the police or the owner to do the right thing. Talk to a personal injury or property attorney — many do free consults — and find out what a demand letter would cost you. Sometimes one letter on law firm letterhead shakes loose information that months of polite phone calls never could. The owner staying quiet is suspicious. That's worth pushing on.

This is so unfair and I'm sorry you're dealing with it. You did everything correctly and you're still the one being penalized. I really hope you get some resolution — you deserve to not be out of pocket for something that was 100% not your fault.